1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved seat-receiving structure for a vehicle suited for a wagon-type vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wagon-type vehicles (or automobiles), a third-row seat, serving as a rearmost-row seat, is provided rearwardly of a second-row seat, has been put into practical use.
In such a vehicle, when the rearmost-row seat is not used, this seat is often folded down, and the space of this rearmost-row seat is used as a cargo space.
The rearmost-row seat is thus folded down so that this space can be used as a cargo space, and at this time, if part of the folded seat projects upwardly from the floor surface, a cargo can not be neatly put on the folded seat.
In view of the above problem, the Applicant of the present application has earlier proposed Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2,594,404.
In this technique, a rearmost floor surface is provided rearwardly of a rearmost-row seat, and is disposed at the same level as that of a foot-resting floor surface for the rearmost-row seat. A seat-receiving recess is formed in the rearmost floor surface, and rotation shafts of a rearmost-row seat cushion are provided in the vicinity of a front edge of the receiving recess, and are disposed at the same level as that of an open top (upper end surface) of the receiving recess.
In the above conventional technique, the seat-receiving recess is formed in and extends downwardly from the rearmost floor surface disposed at the same level as that of the floor on which the rearmost-row seat is mounted. Therefore, in view of a minimum ground clearance of the vehicle, it is difficult to form the seat-receiving recess into a large depth, and this seat-receiving recess is not best suited for receiving the seat, having the thick seat cushion and seat back, and there is still room for improvement of it.
The rotation shafts, and brackets supporting these rotation shafts, are disposed at the same level as that of the floor surface, and are disposed at the open top of the receiving recess. Therefore, when the seat is folded, and is tilted down rearwardly through the rotation shafts to be stored or received in the seat receiving recess, there is a possibility that the rotation shafts and the brackets project slightly from the rearmost floor surface. In this case, it is difficult to secure the completely-flat cargo-placing surface after the seat is thus stored.
This invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a seat-receiving structure for a vehicle in which the depth of a seat-receiving recess can be increased without increasing the height of the vehicle, while keeping a minimum ground clearance to a predetermined level, and the capacity of the seat-receiving recess in a direction of the height thereof can be increased, and the seat-receiving recess serves also as a spare tire-receiving portion, and a cargo-placing floor surface, available when the seat is stored in the seat-receiving recess, is flat.
According to the invention, there is provided a seat-receiving structure for a vehicle wherein seats are mounted on a floor surface within a vehicle room, and are arranged in a forward-rearward direction, and a seat-receiving recess is formed in and extends downwardly from a floor surface disposed rearwardly of the rearmost-row seat, and the rearmost-row seat can be folded in such a manner that a seat back thereof is tilted down forwardly to be laid on a seat cushion thereof, and the folded seat can be turned rearwardly about rotation shafts to be stored in the seat-receiving recess, wherein the floor surface, in which the seat-receiving recess is formed, is disposed at a level higher than a foot-resting floor surface for the rearmost-row seat; and the rotation shafts on the seat cushion of the rearmost-row seat are disposed at a level which is lower than the floor surface, in which the seat-receiving recess is formed, and also is lower than an upper side of the receiving recess.
In this construction, the floor surface, in which the seat-receiving recess is formed, is disposed at a level higher than the foot-resting floor surface for the rearmost-row seat, and therefore the depth of the seat-receiving recess can be made large. Therefore, the size and thickness of the rearmost-row seat can be increased, and there can be provided the rearmost-row seat on which the passenger(s) can be seated comfortably though it is of the foldable, storable type.
It is only necessary that the floor surface, in which the seat-receiving recess is formed, should be disposed at the level higher than the foot-resting floor surface for the rearmost-row seat, and therefore the height of the vehicle will not increase, and besides a predetermined ground clearance can be secured while increasing the depth of the seat-receiving recess.
The rotation shafts on the seat cushion of the rearmost-row seat are disposed at a level which is lower than the floor surface, in which the seat-receiving recess is formed, and also is lower than the upper side of the receiving recess. Therefore, when the seat is stored, there can be obtained the completely-flat cargo-placing floor surface having no projection.
In the invention, an upper half portion of the seat-receiving recess serves as a receiving portion for receiving the rearmost-row seat while a lower half portion of the receiving recess serves as a receiving portion for receiving a spare tire.
In this construction, the seat and the spare tire can be stored in a stacked manner in the receiving recess without increasing the vehicle height while securing the minimum ground clearance.
In the invention, right and left frames are provided below a floor of a vehicle, and are disposed at right and left side portions of the floor, respectively, and rear end portions of the right and left frames are offset outwardly in a direction of a width of the vehicle to provide wide portions, respectively, and the seat-receiving recess is provided at a space between the wide portions.
In this construction, the seat-receiving recess is provided between the wide portions (rear end portions) of the right and left frames, and therefore the width of the receiving recess can be increased while securing the increased depth thereof, so that the capacity of the seat-receiving recess can be increased.